PHOENIX RISING – DESTINATION: POETRY – WHERE AM I?

Let’s talk setting this week. We know, everything happens someplace, in some frame of time. That is the environment of our poetry.

Observe your surroundings. Maybe you’re indoors in a room. How is it appointed? Furnished? Unfurnished? What part of the building is it? What building is it in? Suppose you are outdoors. How’s the weather? What time of year are you experiencing? Urban or rural? What country, region, city or township is it? Year? These are all a part of our setting.

And setting can be categorized in three distinct ways: physical, historical or cultural/social.

PHYSICAL SETTING

• location
• the climate
• natural or topographical features
• architecture
• furnishings

HISTORICAL SETTING

• time and date in history
• events having historical significance (past or present)

CULTURAL/SOCIAL SETTING

• people
• cultural background
• ethnic background
• socioeconomic situation
• religious/philosophical beliefs

Since poetry is a concise expression, the implications of setting are a major function of the rest of the poem.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to write your poems this week with a main concentration on the three aspects of setting and less on the characters within your verse. Go into specific detail and inject imagery into the places and settings that inspire you. Ask yourself, “Where am I?” and write about it!